Driving from Sedona Az to LA in July - what not to miss?
 

Hi, we intend spending a few days in Sedona in July with our teenage daughter and then driving to LA. We would like some advice on the area and the journey so that we don't miss out on anything. We may never be there again...

There are two ways you can go. The slightly shorter, quicker route is to take I-17 south to Phoenix, then the loop 101 bypass to I-10 and head west to LA.

Maybe this is a minority opinion, but the drive from Phoenix to LA is extremely boring and I would recommend just pushing through and getting the drive out of the way. I assume you are from Ireland from your user name and don't know the area -- there are many things to see and do in Phoenix but basically it's a very large city (several million in the urban area) and in July it will be extremely hot, likely 105 - 115 F, so consider just driving around it on loop 101 and heading for LA.

The other route is to take I-17 north to I-40 at Flagstaff and then to I-15 and in to LA. Mapquest says this route is about 509 miles and will take 7 hours 54 minutes to LAX (airport), while the southerly route numbers are 495 miles and 7:44. The actual time will vary a lot if you hit traffic jams or road construction or accidents. Odds of this happening are pretty high, in my experience.

On this northern route it will be much cooler for a while because of the higher elevation and there are some interesting sights if you have time for detours. You'll pass within an hour's drive of the Grand Canyon from Williams, AZ and further west you could take a detour to see Hoover dam or even Las Vegas (I don't know if you have hours or days for this Sedona - LA trip).

If you have just a few extra hours I'd personally just take the south route and push on through. If you have time for an overnight stop or even two then there are places on the northern option that are surely worth seeing, I feel.

I would try to time things so I wasn't driving on a weekday at rush hour (6-9 AM, 3-6 PM) through Phoenix or LA, if possible. The traffic is usually terrible at those times.

Bill_H has spelled out your options perfectly. If you need to do it in one day -- just get it over with and pray it is only 95F and not 110F. The longer route would be great if you can spare a night and see the Grand Canyon. The rest of the drive would be just as hot (or even hotter) than the shorter/southern one.

If the Grand Canyon and/or Las Vegas, Hoover Dam are of interest, go the northern route. If were not July, I'd suggest a Death Valley detour if you have time, but only European tourists visit Death Valley in July. And the town that provide entry points to the park are very gateful for the tourists in the middle of the summer.
In a hurry, drop down to I-10 and do it in a day.

Thank you all very much for your advice. Yes we are Irish and we love exploring the US. We are inclined to take the longer northern route even in the sizzling heat, the scenery is just so awesome! We would like to see the Grand Canyon. So maybe we'll overnight near Williams. Any suggestions?

Don't miss packing a cooler of water in case you break down. Dehydrating while waiting for help is not fun when your body is not used to the summer heat.

For a little more scenery on the northern route, leave I-40 at Seilgman take take old Route 66 through Peach Springs and Hackberry to Kingman. From there it is an easy drive to Hoover Dam and LV if interested. Enjoy!

Why stop at Williams? There is no there there!!

Press on another couple hours to the main event - the Grand Canyon and try to stay on the rim, say at Bright Angel Lodge with a rim view room. Fairly basic but a great setting, or go more upscale next door at El Tovar:

http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/bri...lodge-408.html

BTW - who cares about the heat when you have air conditioning? :)

Please stop posting cute things that could take a person's life Tomsd.

Have you been stranded by a rental car in the desert sun in the middle of the summer without water. It is important to be an educated traveller and to post the above is a tragic disservice to those who have never driven in high heat desert conditions and may be susceptible to breakdowns in their finely tuned rental car.

It would be nice to visit Grand Canyon National Park and overnight there, but it will leave you with a long hot drive to Los Angeles. 494 miles / 795 km could be more depending where it is in Los Angeles you want to be.

Grand Canyon is at 7800 ft elevation, so the park wouldn't be hot, even though lower elevations will be. It is nicest to see it at sunrise or sunset, but it's worth seeing when you are in the area. It's preferable to stay in the park one night, but with that long drive to LA ahead of you, I might push on to Flagstaff and stay there, rather than in the park, itself, considering the difficulty in getting reservations and the relative high cost of accomodations there, and the long drive ahead of you to LA.

Everyone above assumes you're talking about driving to Los Angeles, not to Louisiana, so I will make the same assumption.

I have made the drive from Sedona to Los Angeles many, many times. In addition to all of the good advice above, you should have both sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats for all time out of doors. Make sure you have refillable water bottles, because the Grand Canyon has stopped (or is soon stopping) selling bottled water. A litre an hour is recommended in Arizona, even if you are not hiking. Also have long-sleeves handy in case you get too much sun (don't know whether you believe sunscreen is good for you or not).

One can become chilly when going into an air-conditioned place after being in the July sun. In Sedona, you can step under a shade and feel 20+ degrees cooler. There are few trees from Phoenix west! :)

If you want to make the Grand Canyon trip into more of an excursion, you can stay at a B&B in Williams and take the train to the Canyon--look out at it, have lunch and ride back.

If you drive your car to the Canyon (about 2 hours from Sedona), you'll be able to see many different overlooks, El Tovar, the Tower, etc.

Then as you near the California border at Quartsite, or wherever you are about to cross, buy your last tankful of cheap gas on the Arizona side. It can easily be 20 cents or more a gallon higher in California.

Enjoy your trip, and please stay as long as you can in Sedona. Remember, though God built the Grand Canyon, she lives in Sedona!

The train ride to Grand Canyon is very hokey/touristy and would be attractive to a seven year-old.

Where will you be before Sedona? What else will you have seen?

(I'm one of those people who just doesn't "get" Sedona. Yeah it's pretty, but too wrapped up in the crystal crowd)

Looking Glass: Is the sky falling? Of course you take water, etc, but with today's cell phones and people passing by -

it's very rare somebody will BBQ themselves along the road. :)

And why would anybody get out of the car for any amount of time when driving from the Grand Canyon to LA? Uno mas, yes, - definitely take water with you - in the car - always!!! - summer OR winter. But with the AC on - it's not that much of an uncomfortable trip from the Grand Canyon to LA - just a fairly long jaunt.

Sedona is very pretty/interesting Red Rock formations -but the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon. You can take thefree park buses along the rim to the various scenic outlooks, and also go for a walk along the rim, whatever.

<b>So maybe we'll overnight near Williams. Any suggestions?</b>

Williams is a small logging town just off the freeway with little to recommend it. It's just another 60 miles or one hour drive to the Grand Canyon, if you have an extra night then staying at the GC is by far the best because you can see the canyon at the two best times, sunset and sunrise.

You can get a room inside the park near the rim or, if you can't find anything, at nearby Tusayan.

<b>you can stay at a B&B in Williams and take the train to the Canyon-</b>

I would strongly recommend against taking this train. It is very expensive (roughly 10x more costly than driving for a family of four), it takes longer than driving by about 50% because the tracks are in poor condition, and you are only at the canyon for three hours mid-day, a very time to view it. The train is usually ranked near the bottom in tourist satisfaction when the state tourist bureau has surveys.

<i>Everyone above assumes you're talking about driving to Los Angeles, not to Louisiana</i>

The post has tags for Arizona and California, so it would seem to be a safe assumption ...

I'm overwhelmed with your responses - thank you all. We will take all your advice re water and sun protection and will certainly take in the Grand Canyon. Does anyone know if we can just turn up for a rafting experience on the river or must we book a package with one of the online agents.

The "main event" rafting trips down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon take several days at a minimum. A friend of mine that took a week and he had a incredible lightning show on an island where they camped for the night - mid river - when a storm hit.

However - you can drive over to Page - and take a 4 hour or so float/rafting trip - which is fun, but will take a full day - including driving over and back. Do recommend it if you can carve out a day. I believe there is more than one company - but here's at least one: see: http://explorearizonatours.com/half-...ur.crd-01.tour